Tucked-away midcentury gem flourishes

For most San Franciscans, Masonic Avenue is a convenient — if busy — route from one end of The City to the other. On its way from Haight Street to Laurel Village it passes the Panhandle, University of San Francisco, San Francisco Day School and Geary Boulevard, all of which pass in a blur to drivers jockeying for lane position, trying to avoid getting stuck behind someone making an unprotected left turn.

It’s rare that one of those drivers slows down enough to notice that just south of Kaiser Permanente there’s a quiet — yet convenient — neighborhood full of large, midcentury homes.

Anza Vista is completely devoid of Victorians and Edwardians, for good reason. Before it became a neighborhood, it was the site of San Francisco Calvary Cemetery. Consecrated by the Archdiocese in 1862, Calvary was part of the citywide cemetery exodus that followed World War I. Its inhabitants were moved to Colma, leaving an empty plot.

One of the best examples of realized Anza Vista midcentury potential is 191 Anzavista Ave., a three-bedroom, two-level home for sale. Prior owners altered its original floorplan, removing walls to completely open up the living space. Its wall of living and dining room windows reveals a view of The City and Twin Peaks. Three levels of view decks encourage the indoor-outdoor living favored by the midcentury movement.

Anza Vista isn’t on everyone’s radar, but it’s on the San Francisco map. Drivers willing to take a turn off Masonic Avenue into the five-by-two-block neighborhood may find a new — or at least modern — wrinkle of San Francisco living.